18-year-old charged with pre-meditated murder of man

AMMAN — The Criminal Court prosecutor on Saturday charged an 18-year-old man with premeditated murder in connection with the shooting death of a man in the Jordan Valley a day earlier, official sources said.

The 22-year-old victim was reportedly shot at least once by the suspect with an automatic weapon and fled the area, Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said.

“The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

The criminal court prosecutor is currently questioning the suspect to determine the motive behind the incident, a senior judicial source said.

“The initial investigations of the incident point to old feuds between the suspect and the victim, but investigators are also examining other motives,” the senior judicial source told The Jordan Times.

The criminal court prosecutor ordered that the body be transferred to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine for autopsy, according to the senior judicial source.

The criminal prosecutor also ordered that the weapon seized from the defendant be sent to the criminal lab for further analysis, the senior judicial source added.

Investigators have summoned the victim and suspect’s families to appear in front of the Criminal Court prosecutor for further questioning, the senior judicial source said.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court prosecutor ordered that the suspect be detained for 15 days at a correctional and rehabilitation centre pending further investigations.